Branding iron heater



March .6'. 1951 H- J. JURGENS BRANDING :gon HEATER Filed Aug. 6, 1948 `Patented Mar. 6, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFECE 2,543,781 BRANDING IRON HEATER Herman I. Jurgens, Gurley, Nebr. Application August 6, 1948, Serial No. 42,839

This invention relates to heating stoves, and more particularly to a stove. for heating branding irons for use in cattle-branding. operations.

A main object of the invention is to provide a novel and improved branding iron heater which is simple in construction, easy to setup and which operates very efficiently' under outdoor conditions Such as on the open prairie where cattle are branded.

A further object of the invention is to provide an improved branding. iron heater of the portable type which operates on bottled gas, the heater being inexpensive to manufacture, and being very sturdy in construction, and providing rapid heating of branding irons to a desired temperature without overheating the irons.

Further objectsl and advantages of the invention will become apparenti from the following description and claims, and from the accompanying draw-ings, wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal vertical cross-sectional. view taken through a branding iron heater constructed in accordance. with the present invention.

Figure 2 is a top plan View, partly broken away, of the branding iron heater of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a right end view of the branding iron heater of Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a left end view iron heater of Figure 1.

Figure 5 is a vertical transverse cross-sectional View taken on line 5-5 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings, I I designates a generally rectangular sheet metal housing provided at its corners with supporting legs I2. Housing II has a bottom wall I3, side walls I4, I4 and the end walls shown respectively at I5 and I6. Secured in the housing is an intermediate horizontal partition wall Il, the lower edge of front end wall I5 being joined to the front edge of wall I'I to define therebelow an air intake opening I8. Secured in the lower rear portion of housing II is a rearwardly and upwardly inclined partition wall I3 defining with bottom wall I3 a tool compartment 2l), the lower edge of rear end wall I6 being joined to the rear edge of wall I9. Designated at 2I is a hinged door for the tool compartment 20.

The forward portions of side walls I 4, I4 have vertical extensions 22 defining with the front end wall I5 a heating chamber 23 which is open at its rear end. Secured to the top edges of extensions 22 is a top wall 24 having an angled closure 25 hinged to its forward edge. As shown in Figure 1, a plurality of horn branding irons 26 may ofy the branding 2 Claims.v (Cl. 126-229) be inserted between closure 25 and the top' edge of forward end wall I5 with the ends `of the irons supported in the heating chamber' 23. The upper inner surface of wall |15 and the bottom surface of wall 24 are lined with suitable refractory heat insulating material as shown at 21.

Secured transversely in the rear portion of heating chamber 23 is a depending. forwardly inclined baie plate 28 having a horizontal rearwardly extending top flange 29. Designated at 3D is a transverse vertical wall plate secured in the housing II below and rearwardly of baffle plate 28. Designated at 3I is a forwardly flaring fuel-mixing conduit provided at its forward end with a manifold portion 3i', secured in plate 33 and provided yat its rear end with an adjustable conventional air-mixing valve 32 which admits air into. conduit 3| in a conventional manner. Connected to the mixing valve 32 is the fuel supply pipe 33 which extends through rear wall I6 and is provided with a suitable regulating valve 34. rI'he rear portion of partition wall I'I is formed with a plurality of apertures 35 allowing air to enter the space behind mixing valve 32. Pipe 33 carries a baille disc 36 rearwardly spaced from mixing valve 32.

Connected to the manifold 3|' at the forward end of mixing conduit 3| is a transverse branched conduit 3'I to which are connected a plurality of spaced burners 38. The top margins of side walls I4, I4 are outwardly anged, as shown at 39, 39 and slidably engaged therewith are the channelled side margins 40, 40 of the top cover 4I. Secured to the forward end portion of top cover 4I are a plurality of upstanding spaced tab members 42 defining vertical slots therebetween for receiving the branding irons 43. Secured to the rearward portion of the cover 4I is a transverse angle bar 44 which serves as a rear support for the irons 43, as shown in Figure 1. The forward support for the irons is the transverse horizontal flange 29.

The rear margin of cover 4I is downwardly flanged, as shown at 45, cooperating with a top flange 46 on end wall II to limit forward movement of top cover 4I to the position shown in Figure l. In this position the guide tabs 42 are positioned just behind the horizontal transverse flange 29.

Pipe 33 is connected through valve 34 `and a nipple 4l to a suitable fuel source such as a gas bottle. When valve 34 is open, gas iiows into mixing valve 32 and mixes with air flowing into the space adjacent valve 32 through the apertures 35. The fuel mixture ows through the expanding conduit 3l to the burners 38 and is ignited at said burners. Additional air for combustion enters the heating chamber 23 through the passage dened by baliie plates 30 and 28.

As shown in Figure 1, the regular branding irons 43 and the horn branding irons 28 are supported with their marking ends positioned above the burners 38, whereby the ends of the irons are heated uniformly and in an efficient manner. The irons may be readily removed from the heater for use and may be readily returned thereto for reheating.

Secured rigidly to the rear end wall of the housing is a wire brush 48 which is employed for cleaning the ends of the branding irons whenever required.

While a specic embodiment of a heater for cattle branding irons has been disclosed in the foregoing description, it will be understood that various modifications within the spirit of the invention may occur to those skilled in the art. Therefore, it is intended that no limitations be placed on the invention except as defined by the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A heater for cattle branding irons comprising a housing, a horizontal partition in said housing defining upper and lower spaces therein, the front end of the lower space being open and the rear portion of the partition being apertured to allow air to enter the rear portion of the upper space, a gas burner in the forward portion of the upper space, a, mixing conduit connected to the burner and extending rearwardly in said upper space, said conduit including an air admission valv'e at its rear portion, means for connecting the rear end of the conduit to a source of gas fuel, a top cover detachably secured to said housing, the forward portion of the housing being extended vertically to dene a hood opening rearwardly over said top cover and overlying said burner, spaced tabs on said top cover defining slots therebetween for receiving branding irons with their ends positioned within the hood, and a transverse hinged closure at the top forward corner of said hood for admitting additional branding irons within the hood, said closure having a depending outer marginal portion engageable with the said additional branding irons.

2. A heater for cattle branding irons, comprising a generally rectangular housing, a horizontal partition in said housing defining upper and lower spaces therein, the front end of the lower space being open and the rear portion of the partition being apertured to allow air to enter the rear portion of the upper space, a gas burner in the forward portion of the upper space, upper and lower spaced transverse baie plates in the upper yspace rearwardly adjacent the burner, a mixing conduit connected to the burner and extending rearwardly through the lower baille plate, said conduit including an air admission valve at its rear portion, means for connecting the conduit to a source of gas fuel, a top cover detachably secured to said housing, the forward portion of the housing being vertically extended to define a hood opening rearwardly over said top cover, transversely spaced tabs on said top cover defining slots therebetween for receiving branding irons with their ends positioned within the hood, and a transverse hinged closure at the top forward corner of said hood for admitting additional branding irons within the hood.

HERMAN J. JRGENS.

REFERENCES CITED 'Ihe following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 287,901 Billings Nov. 6, 1883 458,324 Gibbons Aug. 25, 1891 1,024,320 Eisenberg Apr. 23, 1912 1,035,720 McCoy Aug. 13, 1912 1,088,230 Johnson Feb. 24, 1914 

